Aftermath
by mizutani asuna
Summary: The war with Gaea has ended, and Annabeth and Piper are attending a Camp Half-Blood bonfire, held in much-belated celebration of their victory. Annabeth reflects upon how the war has changed them, and recounts how everyone transitioned back to normal life. Alternate Ending. Femslash. Slightly anti-Percabeth, be warned, though no direct bashing of them.


**A/N:** Written for Pipabeth Week, over at Tumblr's shipweeks. Takes place post-Giant War.

**Warnings:** Femslash.

**Dedications:** For Michelle and Kirii.

* * *

**Aftermath**

Piper was wrapping her finger around one of Annabeth's curls absent-mindedly, while Annabeth stroked her hair in return. They sat nestled against one another, breathing in the smoke from the campfire. It was nice to just be able to relax, to feel calm and comfortable instead of unrested.

Gaea was gone. The war was over. All was well; Annabeth hoped a few smores wouldn't unbalance the forces of the universe just yet. She'd had her fill of questing. If the next quest that came up needed a child of Athena, there was always Malcolm. Annabeth just wanted to spend some down time with her girlfriend; _surely_ the gods owed her that much by now.

She looked around the auditorium at her friends' sleepy faces. Nico had fallen asleep on Percy's lap, the poor kid; Percy himself was drooling on Grover's shoulder. Grover didn't look too happy about that, but after the Tartarus scare, he wasn't about to complain.

Reyna was curled up next to Clarisse. They'd really bonded over the past few weeks, since Jason's death. Annabeth supposed Clarisse couldn't help feeling protective of Reyna, after what had happened with Silena. Reyna, for her part, respected Clarisse's warrior spirit, and valued her fierce loyalty. They'd both been alone for a long time, so it was nice to see them together. They weren't quite _happy_, but they were as content as could be expected under the circumstances.

Annabeth herself, or any of the Seven, couldn't really be friends to Reyna; none of them could handle it, after all that'd happened. Annabeth regretted that, and from talks she'd had with the others, it seemed the rest of the Seven did too. But what was done was done. Reyna appeared to have made her peace with it, though she was still standoffish around anybody who wasn't Clarisse.

Though she never said anything, Annabeth couldn't help getting the vibe that she was relieved Leo was dead. The only people Reyna seemed to mourn were her Roman soldiers, Jason, Hazel, and Frank. She felt responsible for the last two, as they'd been so new to camp, and she'd still let them take on such a dangerous quest. She blamed Piper for the third, though she'd never admit it. Reyna couldn't even look her in the eye these days. It was the same with Annabeth.

With everyone in such low spirits, there hadn't been much celebration of Gaea's defeat. They should've felt ecstatic, but the only emotion anyone seemed capable of conjuring up was relief. For the most part, they were too numb to feel anything else.

Annabeth rarely hung out with anyone these days besides Piper. Occasionally, she could tolerate the company of Rachel, or Grover, or maybe Clarisse. She hadn't spoken to Percy since the end of the war. You'd think falling into Tartarus with someone and surviving would bring you closer. But it hadn't; in fact, the exact opposite had happened. Annabeth couldn't be near Percy these days without him triggering her flashbacks. With the latest Great Prophecy fulfilled, they no longer had any reason to interact. Annabeth had unceremoniously ended their relationship the minute the whole ordeal was over.

Percy had looked heartbroken, but Annabeth couldn't find the energy to care. Percy was her first real boyfriend; her first love since Luke. They had been _so happy_ together. Annabeth used to dream about marrying Percy, having his children, and growing up to live the normal life she'd always wanted. But Gaea had ruined that, and now, Piper was her only solace.

On good days, they'd leave camp and go out together for some alone-time. They'd stop by a local burger joint, bring up old, dumb in-jokes, and mostly just hold hands and pretend they were okay. Sometimes they'd hang out in the deserted Zeus cabin, and swap anecdotes about Jason and Thalia. That had led to a fair bit of discussion about joining the Hunters, and whether the no-relationships rule applied to lesbian couples. With their broken relationships at Camp Half-Blood, it just didn't feel like home anymore.

It had occurred to them to swap camps, as Reyna had done when she'd ceded all praetorian responsibilities to Gwen and Dakota. Octavian was deceased along with all her friends, so there wasn't really any reason for her to go back. However, Piper and Annabeth both agreed that Camp Jupiter wasn't really an option for them; and not just because they were Greeks. The camps were allied now, but they both got the impression that the living members of the Seven weren't welcome there anymore.

Reyna was made an honorary member of Cabin Five, since Bellona didn't have a cabin and Reyna hadn't wanted to sleep alone anyway. Cabin Six had offered her the same hospitality, but she'd declined their offer, citing some half-hearted excuse about not wanting to trouble them. Ordinarily, Annabeth might've felt her cabin had been insulted; but "ordinary" didn't exist anymore, and Annabeth wasn't who she used to be. If Reyna found the idea of bunking with Cabin Six awkward, it was _nothing_ compared to how Annabeth felt about it. To raise a complaint would just be hypocritical at this point.

Piper nudged Annabeth. The campfire was fizzling out, and the other campers were starting to retreat back to their cabins. Everyone had had their share of smores and human interaction for the day, apparently.

"I think it's time to hit the sack," Piper said as she untangled herself from Annabeth. "I'm going to bed."

"I think you're right," Annabeth yawned. "Time to call it a night." She lifted her head to meet Piper's gaze, and gave her a quick kiss on the mouth.

The auditorium was nearly deserted now. Piper extended her hand to Annabeth, who accepted it, and promptly pulled herself off the bleachers.

"I'll walk you to your cabin," Piper offered.

Annabeth managed a small smile. "I'd like that," she replied.

They walked the rest of the way in silence, savoring this one moment of peace. They could resume feeling sorry for themselves in the morning. For now, it was just nice to be together.


End file.
